Suppuration
By the second or third day pus forms at the focus of infection.
The pus is able to penetrate cortical bone and form a subperiosteal abscess. Infection may track up and down the shaft of the bone.
The abscess may extend into:
- the surrounding soft tissue and eventually exit through the skin
- an adjacent joint:
- this is only possible in the adult if the metaphysis is within the capsule
- in the neonate the abscess can cross the growth plate and drain into the joint
Vertebral infection may cross the end-plate and the adjacent disc into the next vertebra.
Related pages
Create an account to add page annotations
Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page